Sometimes the
chapter divisions in the New Testament (which were not part of the original
writings but were added much, much later) are less than helpful, as here in
John 10, where Jesus carries on the conversation with the Jewish leadership
begun in John 9.
In describing Himself
as the 'sheep-gate' (or 'door' - v1-2,7), and 'good Shepherd' (v11,14), Jesus
is making the He wants those
'following Him' (v4), who hear and respond to His voice and His call upon their
lives, to stop listening to the Pharisees whom He describes as spiritually
dangerous thieves, robbers and careless hired hands (v1-2, 12). As religious leaders they were meant to
provide for the spiritual welfare of the people, but they did not. At night,
sheep were kept safe in circular stone enclosures and the one looking after
them would lie down across the entrance as a 'living' gate or door, keeping the
sheep in and predators out. In times of danger however, the hired help might
simply run away exposing the sheep to thieves and wolves because they did not
really care. The shepherd, who owned the
sheep, would stay and protect them come what may, for the sheep were his. Jesus
is the good Shepherd and those who enter through him, the door, will find
salvation and the security of safety and sustenance. In fact, his willingness
to lay down his life for the sheep (v17-18 - pointing ahead to the Cross) is
why the Father loves Him. This voluntary willingness to lay down His life is
underlined by affirming that no-one will take His life from Him by force. Whatever His disciples may think when He is
arrested and crucified, Jesus is still in control.
same point:
The image of Jesus'
sheep - real believing disciples - hearing his voice and following Him is
picked up in the rest of chapter 10 and provides the climax to chapter 11. John 10:22-42 takes place in the winter
(v22), two months after the blind man was healed. The people have had time to
consider all the evidence of Jesus' miracles and the authority of His
teaching. Those who still do not
understand that Jesus is the Messiah and are still sceptically wondering are
those who do not recognise the voice of the good shepherd and so do not believe
(v25-27). As Jesus begins his journey to
Jerusalem and to the Cross, he is accompanied by a small band of true sheep who
have truly believed in Him without needing miraculous signs to persuade
(v40-42). Hearing the Shepherd's voice was enough (v27). This is the essence of true faith.
And because this is
John's Gospel where spiritual truth is often visibly displayed in nearby
passages, if we pass over all the preliminaries in chapter 11 (which are such an encouragement to those going through difficult times), then the
authoritative power of the Shepherd's voice over His sheep that they hear, recognise
and respond to the Shepherd's call is dramatically seen when He calls into the
tomb, "Lazarus, come forth!"
Such is the power of Jesus's word, never underestimate its life-giving
power to speak into the lives of the 'dead' (11:43).
As Wesley wrote: He speaks, and listening to His voice, new life the
dead receive.
The signature
miracle of the raising of Lazarus has a number unexpected consequences which
John reports at the end of chapter 11 and into chapter 12: first, many
eyewitnesses of what happened believe in Jesus (11:45); and second, the
Sanhedrin call an emergency meeting to discuss their next move (v47), which
ironically and prophetically, included the plot to take Jesus' life - for the
sake of the peace of the nation (v49-53). Later, they also decide to do away
with Lazarus, who they clearly considered had been better left dead than
restored to life (see 12:9-11).
Thus, and throughout
the remainder of the chapter, the hardness of unbelieving hearts is revealed
(v37). It is not true to say that God deliberately blinds people's eyes and
hardens people's hearts so that they cannot respond to Him in faith. The reality is, as these verses show
(v37-41), that when unbelievers stubbornly refuse to believe in Christ, despite
God reaching out to them again and again, He lets them have their way. They do
not believe, because they will not believe.
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